Encore's New Gun
OOC note - I'd just like to give a HUGE thanks to everyone who helped out during these RPs! ELEVEN of us during the whole chain - nice one guys, you're awesome. Encore says, "Anyone around want to help me test this new batch of Enershine? Looks like it's gonna be a real stonker- er..." There's a faint 'krump' from the direction of the barracks, complete with a faint smoke puff visible from that direction. ++Explosion detected in barracks. Repeat. Explosion detected in barracks.++" Sit-Com says, "Sure." Sit-Com says, "Fire in the hole, fire in the hole!" Encore says, "Ow..." Sit-Com says, "Quick, get the fire retardant foam!" Encore says, "Nah, no foam... but I'm on me way to medlab, gonna need a neutralising agent." Encore says, "Problem is, I don't know whether what's eatin' me armour's a base or acid" Sit-Com says, "Is your face made out of aluminum" Encore says, "No, chrome-plated stainless steel, guv." Sit-Com says, "Then it's an acid. Getting the Cow Brand Baking Soda..." Encore says, "Uh? It's not eatin' me face." Sit-Com says, "Oh." Encore says, "It's eatin' me chestplate, which is standard Autobot armour, composition C." Encore saunters into the medical bay whistling quietly about eight minutes later, most of the paint on his face scorched away. He's also covered in some of the noxious catalyst chemicals that he uses to do his brewing- and one of them is, slowly, beginning to dissolve his chest plate... Sit-Com looks at Encore with a raised optic brow. "Strange brew?" he asks, "Smoking near the stills again?" He sends Encore to a medical bunk and starts examining. Sit-Com grabs a large box of Cow Brand baking soda and starts shaking it over the affected armor. Encore shakes his head. "Got the mix wrong. Well, not wrong, but in the wrong order. Added the catalyst to the reactants instead of the reactants to the catalyst. It did 'zactly what it was supposed to, but... um... not that /fast/..." "Oy," Sit-Com remarks, "Plop plop fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is!" The soda should start foaming and bubbling now. Encore watches as the soda starts foaming, instead of his armour. "Aha!" He grins The foam expands as the acid is neutralized. It's all so foamy! If Encore's face had been affected, he'd be looking like he was foaming at the mouth. Encore chuckles softly. "Exactly. Except this time it was plip, plop, fizz, FIZZ BANG" "Alka Seltzer to the rescue," Sit-Com says. His optics go wide as he watches the foam expand even more and start slopping onto the floor. Encore blink-blinks at Sit-com "Ehe yeah, one of the reactants was hydrofluoric acid..." "Oho," Sit-Com says, "One sec." He grabs the box again and shakeshakeshakes some more on. Hydrofluoric acid is highly reactive. Encore nodnods and watches as the soda continues to neutralise the hydroflouric acid he's managed to explode onto himself. He takes the box and also shakes it onto a some he's noticed on his arm, where he shielded his face from the detonating shine-in-progress. Neither Encore nor Sit-com can see it, but somehow, it's gotten onto the mountings that hold the 40mm Bofors cannon on his back, and they're slowly being eaten away Sit-Com continues to shakeshakeshake baking soda onto Encore. "May need to rinse that down," he says. "Shaving cream! Be nice and clean!" Hoist wanders in, grumbling about something, and sets his toolbox down on the bench. "I told those two not to port the exhaust from the mains into the main intake ducts...but nooooo...they don't listen!" Encore nods in agreement. "Yeah, get a Gumby to rinse it off every few minutes. There was quite a lot.. um... prolly gonna need a hazmat team in my hangar, too..." Encore says, "Er, can someone send a Hazmat crew to my quarters, quick? Hydroflouric acid spill." Sit-Com points at a giant box of baking soda and motions to some Gumbies. They pick up the box and RUN to Encore's quarters with it. Sit-Com says, "Roger that." Hoist says, "Awww, you...I JUST replaced those tiles!" Encore says, "Nah nothing on the floor 'cept the foam, guv." Encore gives Hoist a wave and blinks "WHat's up, guv?" Encore says, "At least, here in Medbay. In my quarters... gonna need some repairs..." Hoist says, "Whaddaya mean in yer quarters? Like last month with the mining nanites? Encore, I give up. Yer spillin' stuff so often, I'm just gonna call ya BP from now on!" Encore laughs "Makin' enershine is dangerous work, guv, but it's worth it." He pauses. "Once I get the new production still up and running I estimate I should be bringin' in about..." He pauses again, doing the numbers, muttering to himself. The name 'Windshear' might be audible among those he mutters. "Bout six thousand credits per month. Stepping up to maybe nine or ten if I can refine the design." Sit-Com says, "Ewww, nanites." Encore says, "I needed 'em...." Encore watches the stuff foaming when he scowls slightly, sitting up suddenly. With a loud CLANG, the Bofors cannon drops from its 'storage' mounting on his back. "Uh-oh," Sit-Com says, "Better roll over." He gets ready to sprinkle more baking soda. Encore nods and does as ordered, his arms folded infront of him. He picks up his Bofors, taking his small box of the stuff and applying it to what's left of the mountings on the cannon itself. Cooling fans can be heard to cycle up a notch as he starts to think about something Hoist heads down the hallway to Encore's quarters, stopping at the open doorway when he sees several gumbies attempting to clean up the mess. "Primus!" he gasps. Encore says, "Er, sorry guv. Thankfully the damage is localised to the corner where I keep the distilling gear" Encore says, "And most of what'cher seeing is prolly the foam from the neutralising agent" Hoist stands at the door, crossing his arms. He just shakes his head. "Ener-whut-choo-makin?" Encore laughs "Enershine. I need to use the hydroflouric acid to break down a few chemicals and initate a certain reaction an... once that's done I'll have an additive for my enershine." He grins."It's a coolant." Encore says, "Well, it tastes cold" "Time to get the hose," Sit-Com says, "Please step over to the power washing unit." It looks like all the foamy fizzy is fully fizzed, and now all that remains is to rinse it all off. Encore stands carefully, cradling his cannon as he walks to the washer station, dripping foam behind himself. "Least it wasn't a big concussive blast like last time. Put me in stasis, that one" "Nasty," Sit-Com remarks. He operates the hosing equipment and gives Encore a good shower, rinsing off all the neutralized baking soda mixture. Encore says, "'Ere, Cross'airs, ya there?" Chief Crosshairs says, "Eh, whaddya want?" Encore says, "After a bit of... damage... durin' shine manufacture, my Bofors fell from its mountings. An' it got me finkin..." Chief Crosshairs says, "Hold on. I'll get the wet blanket." Chief Crosshairs grumblegrumblegrumble. "........bah, keep going." Encore sounds confused at the wet blanket comment. "Wot? Eh, anyway. I got finkin. It's a pretty 'ard-'ittin' weapon..." Chief Crosshairs listens for a moment or two thoughtfully. "Aye." He says. " . . . and?" He seems to smile paternally -- at least that is how it sounds by the change in his voice. "Son, nobody ever mentioned a weapon and 'thinkin' without the next thing coming out of their vocalizer being askin' me to do something to it, so just spit it you." Encore says, "Well, what would you need ta give a 40mm Bofors a detatchable rifle stock and trigger, so I can use it in both forms?" Bumblebee laughs, "Couldn't you just lean over and fire it off anyways? You might look silly, but it'd solve the problem." Encore says, "Negative, Bee. It'd damage my wings, plus all the wiring and that's wrong." Chief Crosshairs says, "Well, we'd need to start with givin' whomever gave you your base design to have some cerebral circuits. But since we can't manage that, probably not so much. I made your other drek work well enough." Chief Crosshairs says, "Probably about an hour and a weapon frame big enough. Give or take." Encore turns under the power wash, making sure it cleans every little bit of the gak, and any remaining acid, from both his form, and the gun. He examines it with a grin Encore gives the impression of nodding slowly. "Well, if ya come take a look at it when you can an' tell me what you need, I'll head off to Junk. I mean, ya can find everyfing there!" Chief Crosshairs grunts. "Yeah, especially scraplets and sprockets." Sit-Com says, "I'll have you know we're scraplets free 8 vorns running!" Chief Crosshairs says, "Believe it when I see it. How'd you get your AA cannon knocked off, anyway?" Encore laughs self-depreciatively. "Kinda... blew meself up again. Grade-2 Hazmat, there was a hydroflouric acid spill.. The Spray nozzles continue to hose down Encore, and Sit-Com takes particular care to thoroughly rinse where the Bofors cannon came off. Encore lets Sit-Com do his work, looking over his shoulder at the Junkion. "'ere Sit-Com..." he muses. "Reckon we could take a trip to Junk soon?" "Anytime," Sit-Com says, "We're open 24/7, operators are standing by." Encore looks thoughtful. Incidentally, his core integrity is intact, but he'll need yet another set of chest plating! Chief Crosshairs is silent for a moment. A long moment. It's obvious he's still there though because there is the tink-tink-tink sound of him working on something or other. "I see." Chief Crosshairs says, "Well, are you mobile, or are you a mess of parts again?" Encore says, "Fully mobile, the damage waas limited. Was more of a spray of hydroflouric acid than a serious detonation, thank Primus" Chief Crosshairs says, "Bring what's left of it by my armory a little later, and we'll see what we can do." "Next time maybe a plastic safety suit would be advisable," Sit-Com remarks. "Now we'll have to replace your chest. Silicone or Latex?" Chief Crosshairs says, "No promises." Encore says, "No worries, guv. The cannon's intact, it just cut the mountings" Chief Crosshairs says, "Pity. Coulda replaced it with some sort of energy weapon." Chief Crosshairs says, "Then again, nobody has appreciation for a good volley anymore." Encore says, "Bah, energy weapons. Energy weapons can be knocked out or jammed. With an autocannon like this... I pull the trigger and those five shots /are/ going down that barrel." Chief Crosshairs says, "Until you realize you've warped it into a U shape, the way you use your stuff." Encore nods "I fink I will, guv!" He agrees. "Er, type-C armour, please. Encore laughs "You know me, guv. I like ta live dangerously. Oh! Dya want that railgun back, now Thunderwing's dealt with?" Chief Crosshairs says, "Nah, use it till the rails fall off." Encore says, "I hear ya, guv!" Encore says, "I'll drop by at some point in the next few hours" "C-armor it is," Sit-Com says, "We have plenty of that stocked, guaranteed no sprockets or scraplets. 20 vorn warranty on all parts and labor." Encore grins and nods "Awesome, thanks, Sit-Com." He steps out of the washer unit "Friendly service, helpful staff," Sit-Com adds, "Easy payment plan." He checks his wrist-TV. Ahhh, M*A*S*H is on. Encore chuckles and nods "Yeah, nice one man." Sit-Com starts cleaning up the mess that was left around the medtable where Encore was foaming. He's also watching Hawkeye and BJ play checkers with martini glasses. Encore leans over to look at the TV, helping with the cleanup work himself "How can ya work and watch at the same time?" "Every Junkion from activation date has learned how," Sit-Com explains. "Watch TV while we work. The perfect motivator. We're not total couch potatos, oh no. We work for a living." Encore blinks and nods "Huh, fair enough. Me, if I've got the box on while I'm working it's more for the noise than the visuals..." Sit-Com nods understandingly. "Sometimes we don't watch but just listen, if it's one we've seen a bajillion times." Encore nods "Fair'nuff." He whistles quietly to himself as he cleans. Sit-Com might notice it as Bowie's 'Major Tom' Sit-Com does indeed recognize the song and hums along to it. Encore nods approvingly once his cleaning is done, then smirks. "Mail the footage of me cleaning to Loadout wouldja?" "Sure thing," Sit-Com says. Hoist finishes resurfacing the area that was damaged by the Enershine still. "Well...better than new...and I reinforced it this time. I know it won't last long though....we aughtta put you in a bubble. Encore laughs "Yeah yeah. Least I only ever hurt myself, Hoist." "The bot in the bubble?" Sit-Com asks. Encore shakes his head, laughing "Bah, no. I wouldn't be able to fight or make shine... I'd go banzai" "It's the heavy patching in here that keeps it that way, Encore. Not much'a this area that's original anymore!" Hoist replies, shaking a wrench at Encore in a teasing but jovial manner. Why is he using a wrench for a resurfacing job? "Hah, good one, Sit!" he chuckles, putting his fists on his hips. Sit-Com grabs a gas mask and holds it in front of his face. "Are you my mummy?" he asks quizzically. Encore looks blankly at Sit-Com and shrugs. He's /almost/ got the lighter to his cigar when he realises and scowls up at the fire detection systems. Sit-Com nods at Encore. "Only you can prevent medbay fires." Encore scowls at Sit-com too. If scowls could kill, Encore'd be in the brig "No...no I don't think he can, hah hah!" Hoist says, slapping Encore on the shoulder with a laugh. "That'd be against 'is programming!" Encore directs an even deadlier scowl at Hoist and, very deliberately and obviously, puts his lighter away. Sit-Com shrugs. "I didn't make the rules," he says, "Or the fire extinguisher." Encore gives a slight smirk, declaring "Now, gentlebots, I'm headed for the roof." Sit-Com nods at Encore. "I'll finish up here. Let me know when you're ready to take a trip to Junkion." ++++++++++++++++++++++Some time later, Autobot City Training Room++++++++++++++++++++++ Encore doesn't climb down the ladder into the training room - he slides down it, feet and hands on either side to land with a heavy clang. He steps straight up to one of the firing ranges and pulls from subspace a modified human 40mm grenade launcher. It seems to be firing a much /longer/ shell, rigged for high-velocity ammunition like that of his Bofors. He waves to those present and calls out to the safety Gumby that his range is hot. He's plainly not expecting quite the kick he gets from the jerry-rigged practice weapon, staggering back a few steps with a laugh. "Don't feel that when I'm flyin'..." Decibel is a bit busy to pay much attention to exactly who arrives, but hearing the tromp of footfalls he gives a small wave of his own before returning his attention to the blaster in from of him. Adjusting the setting he takes a few more shots down range before looking to the monitor screen. The results displayed are then transferred to a data pad as he begins the process again. Encore takes a few more practice shots and then looks over "What's that yer testing?" He asks curiously while re-loading the thing. It's a long process; he has to open it up and place the five rounds within individually. Pausing after the next grouping of shots Decibel turns to his fellow Autobot while the results calculate. "Oh hello Encore, I didn't notice it was you. I'm trying to determine the optimal energy output level for a design I'm working on. I don't want to put a power cell in it that is just going to drain faster without producing a noticable boost, nor do I want a cell that does little more than a standard blaster off the shelf." Encore nods as he lifts the jerry-rigged 40mm to his shoulder and takes aim again. He flicks a switch on the side and squeezes the trigger. POM-POM-POM-POM! He's plainly learnt the lesson of managing the recoil, leaning forwards. He's also watched a lot of war movies or army promotional videos, as his pose could be taken straight from an EDF recruitment poster. It seems to work some; the modified launcher's recoil pushing him to vertical. "Hnn. Me, I'm gettin' ready for when I can get my bofors in this mode, as an assault rifle. I've bodged this together, with help, to get some practice in before it's made. Wouldn't use the thing in combat." Encore chuckles "How's your work going?" Decibel hits a few keys to send the collected data to his office terminal and sets the booth available for the next Autobot as he moves closer to inspect the patchwork weapon. "How close are you to gathering the required materials and system adjustments to accept such a weapon?" Locking his rifle away he shrugs slightly, "Unsure at the moment. I'll need to run some additional theories through the computer and adjust for risk versus reward for the modifications. It may sound good on paper but prove to be a waste in the field. And while such designs are fun to make and always a challenge, I hate wasting resources building something to put on the shelf to collect dust." Encore nods in agreement "I hear ya. I'm going to be headed to Junk quite soon to see what I can find... I've already got the hardest part to get, the Bofors cannon, so it's just a case of finding something that suits the design and getting Crosshairs to build it." He nods. "I've intentionally designed this with more kick so I'm ready for when the real thing's here. Encore really means Crosshairs designed it so, probably Decibel chuckles a bit as he nods, "Well good luck finding anything there, that place is a mad house. If I never have to go back there it will be too soon. All the constant transmission chatter gives me a headache." Shuddering a bit as he recalls his last trip to planet Junk he continues. "Well at least you will be prepared, though I'm sure we could design an energy based systems should you desire something recoil free." Having not had much chance to work with Crosshairs himself Decibel isn't really sure what the munitions crafter would have in mind, after all Decibel far prefers his own work to that of others anyhow being the perfectionist (read science geek) that he is. Encore nods "Well on that note I may have something planned for ya later... it's not so much an energy weapon as... well, would you be able to design something to power a gatling gun by energon? I mean the feed and main motor to spin the barrels..." Decibel nods without hesitation, "Sure, that's not much more than a simple energon motor to begin with. Most terran designs use electric motors powerd by batteries or off the engine of the craft carrying said weapon. All we need to do is adjust the fuel source or simply adjust the power flow of a standard weapon into the motor to spin the barrels instead of discharging a blast." Encore seems to be insistent on keeping 'themey' with chassis. "Simple as that? Hah, that's great ta hear" Decibel smiles, "Yeah, it's not really complicated at all when you break it down." Encore nods with a grin "Thanks Decibel." Decibel pauses as a gumby walks over looking confused and holding an arm full of parts. Sighing Decibel takes the basic pistol first then adds the extra additions to it before handing it back completed and sending the trooper on his way. "Any time Encore. We really should display the proper way to add the stock and power boosters to hose pistols down here, people are always forgetting which piece locks into which." Encore chuckles and pulls out his own pistol, laying it on his palm. It's a large, revolver-type handcannon, six shots before he's got to reload it. "I kinda like fings simple, myself..." He admits. "Had this pistol back on Cybertron, before I was put in stasis... it's kinda a link back to the ol' days." It's big-bore, even for a Transformer, so... it probably still does the job. Decibel peeks over at the displayed weapon, "Hmm projectile based, not a bad design though I prefer using energy based weapons myself. Mostly so I have less to worry about carring around. Even so I tend to stick to more acoustic based assaults anyhow." Having been around a long time himself Decibel is well aware of ties to the past, even if he tries not to think about them much as it often leads to haunted thoughts and feelings of loss. Encore twirls the gun around his finger and replaces it in his thigh - a robocop-style rig. "To each their own. Me? I'unno, energy weapons seem a bit unreliable. Sure there's the bonus of not worrying about ammo, but they draw straight from yer energon supply sometimes and... I dun fink I like dat." Leaning back against a station divider Decibel shrugs, "Never run into a problem. Usually my systems can replenish themselves fast enough before it becomes a concern. Running out of ammo however would be an issue, plus it's hard to generate a focused sonic wave from a projectile." Encore nods "Oh indeed. Both choices have their drawbacks an' advantages." ++++++++++++++++++++++About a week later, Planet Junkion++++++++++++++++++++++ Encore smiles at those who've arrived. "Thanks for comin' guys. What we're looking for is..." he holds up a rough schematic of what Crosshairs plans to do for his Bofors cannon. "Stuff to make this out of" He holds up his still-detatched Bofors cannon. "This, so I can use it in robot mode. I'll make all of you your own special blends o' enershine, to your tastes, as fanks." Sit-Com welcomes you all to Junkion. "Step right up, step right up. If you want it we've got it, you've just got to believe. Believe in yourself. Encore, come on down, you're the next contestant on The Price Is Right." He points at the Junk Pile. Probably buried within are the parts he's looking for. "This almost feels like bein' back 'home' in the Scrap Fields," Horsepower rumbles, somewhat sardonically. "Hopefully with less punks tryin' to hassle us." He turns his attention back to the others as Encore brings out the blueprints, taking one end of the unfolded sheet to look more closely at it. "Essent'ally turnin' it from a mounted weapon to a rifle. Shouldn't be too hard, nope." Letting go of the plans again, he cracks his knuckle-joints and strides over to the indicated pile. Landmine says "So why are we looking on Junk instead of having Crosshairs just cast the nessescary parts in his shop? Not that I'm complaining, but it's still worth asking." "Reeeee....cyyyyyy....cling," Sit-Com says to Landmine, in a C. Montgomery Burns voice. Foxfire is accompanying the larger Autobots on their little quest. He sticks out his metallic tongue thoughtfully at the offer that Encore makes everyone. "You'd better make my blend mild," he says. "I can't hold my high-grade well." He peers about. Encore has the Bofors cannon, just needs the parts. He chuckles softly "Well, Crosshairs needs the materials and parts, plus this is a pretty old weapon and there's no moulds. It's much simpler, I fink, if we come get it 'ere, makes it much easier and means that nuffing's wasted." He looks at Foxfire with a nod "Exactly to your specifications, Foxfire" "No problemo, man. Anythin' for a friend... and delicious enershine, naturally." Torque is all smiles at this point, both by the promise of booze and the chance to dig around on one of the most famous scrap locations in the galaxy. She wondered how much good stuff she could find for herself before grabbing a quick peek at the schematics, memorizing them. The femme snorts at Landmine's question, "Tch, are you serious? Junk is a goldmine if yah know where t' look and what to do with what yah find." Torque grins before nearly skipping off to a large scrap heap, acting like a child in a candy store. Foxfire dims one optic in a wink. "Sounds good, Encore." "Cuz if we can reuse some of this stuff, it's less strain on what 'new' stockpiles we have," Horsepower adds as he looks over... and squints a bit at the 'armored humanoid'. "Must be onna those 'Preetendahs' I keep hearin' bout... Ahaha, I like this gal's spunk." He kneels partway down to start picking through parts, tossing a few metal panels aside. "There's some stuff that can be melted down and reforged..." Like Torque he's probably looking as much for himself as for Encore's project. Encore also begins to root around through the scrap piles thoughtfully, nodding at Horsepower "Wot 'e' said." he grins, lighting an enercigar and re-stowing his Bofors on a strap. He whistles to himself happily, nodding "Bring it back, Horsepower." "Pretender, yeah. It's...interesting." Landmine says, turning. "Still, if we're gonna do some digging-" and with that said, the yellow shell opens down the middle, and a smaller, less-impressive robot hops out- only to transform into his vehicular mode! "Any idea where to start?" he asks, lowering his Astro-Blaster to point at the surface. "I can put a big ol' hole anywhere we need to put one...not that I think anyone'll notice on this planet, but you get the idea." In the Pile of Junk is a myriad of objects. Old arms, legs, new kitchen sinks that were ripped out when the owners decided to go with Enamel not Steel, and various weapons. Including some 40 mm Big Freaking Gun parts. Anti-Aircraft style. It might take a bit of digging to find them, but they're there. Sit-Com could have sworn a load of them were dumped in that pile a few months ago. Someone unloading some munitions that had been banned on some world and then sent to Junkion. Torque is nearly stuck halfway into a hill of scrap metal at this point, tossing things over her shoulders, though occasionally oggling something and quickly subspacing it. Other objects are simply set aside for Encore's scrutiny later. She wasn't too keen on guns, but could find various parts well enough. As long as they could be shaved down, reshaped, or whatever, she'd set them aside to be approved. "Ooo, some nice stuff in here. Whoa! Could totally use that in my project.." The femme currently talks to herself as she subspaces things left and right. Horsepower holds up a piece of metal pipe at an angle so he can peer down the length, testing how straight it is. "Could make a barrel outta this sometime.. but it ain't what we're lookin' for, for yer weapon." So he tosses it in his own pile of collecting. "Don't go shootin' off anythin' too strong, y'might blow up what we're lookin' for... but cutting through some of these top layers of scrap might not hurt." Encore nods as he watches, pulling out some thick iron bars "Hmm, this looks good." "Hey, I'm a professional...er, sorry, what was your name again? I'm Landmine." the space-buggy bounces a little on his shocks, and then rolls over towards where Torque's working. "-and I'm a surgeon with this thing. Watch!" and with that, the muzzle of his Astro-blaster narrows, and Landmine begins to fire a concentrated beam of explosive force, neatly carving out a large chunk of, well, Junk! Sit-Com digs into the Junk Pile, scattering parts and pieces here and there. "Need it. Need it. Don't need it. Need it. Need it," he says, as he sorts through what he's pulling out of the pile. "Name's Horsepower. Or jus' Hoss fer short." Followed by a low whistle as Landmine lives up to the 'mine' part of his name, the weaponsmith in him clearly impressed by the weapon. "What did ya call that again? Don't see many beam weapons that cause explosive breakdown on impact." Slightly distracted, yes. Torque is still kind of inside the scrap pile, so when the laser-cut chunk falls out, the femme's face is in full view from behind. "Err.. What the pit just happened?" Antennas are perked in surprise as she can see everyone now, though her roaming optics soon narrow on Landmine, "Heey, be careful with that! Coulda sliced my head off, yah know." Encore gives Landmine a funny look before he pulls out some heavy-looking springs. "'ere, what'cha reckon 'bout these? Reckon Cross'airs would be able to use 'em?" "But I didn't!" Landmine says to Torque, transforming back up to his 'bot mode. "Besides, you were well outside of the fire arc, you're fine." the miner smiles, and then looks over at Horsepower. "It's called an Astro-Blaster. Y'see, it detonates high-yield explosives within a close-band magnetic forcefield, and then directs the energy to a certain point. Not an Ion Rifle, but it'll do." he nods, and then props the gun on his shoulder, peering at the big chunk of scrap he's carved out. "Any of you guys got a winch? I figure it might be easier to look if we dragged out some pieces and did it that way- maybe even get a look at the strata as a clue for where to look?" Torque simply rolls her optics before pulling herself backwards out of the pile and standing, though feeling a little strange. She'd put a hand to her head, only able to feel the colored cable hair usually hidden under her helmet. "Erk, stupid thing." The femme gruffs and reaches back in, yanking her cap free before subspacing it too. It'd just get in the way. Torque then picks up the small heap of parts and pieces, bringing them over to Encore, "Hey, Encore. Found some stuff that can easily be reformatted. Dunno if it's exactly what you're lookin' for, though." "I'm sure someone has a winch," Sit-Com says, peering at the group, particularly Torque. "Can you hook him up? A brown pickup made of bits of scrap, carries the form of a familiar autobot in the back. "Dit dit dee-dit!" sings the truck as it merrily bounces over the uneven surface. "Dit dit deeee dit deee dit dunn!" it continues, to the tune of the old Earth show, "Sanford and Son." It can be seen, that in the bed, it is Chromedome, holding on fiecelyto some bits in there along with him as they hit the bumps. "Hey, would you mind?" he says, with an unusual air of intolerance. "I was really lucky to find a rare tenex interface module of this era! This is the key to my*OOF*!" ".. Magnetic focus. Never thought of that..." But Horsepower is snapped out of his own musing by Encore. "Yer gonna need somethin' to help manage recoil, so maybe. Like a shock absorber fer yer arm... Eh, I think we're managin' so far." He grabs one of the chunks of scrap Landmine cut loose, palming it with one hand to pick it and toss it aside. Then pulls an even bigger spring out from underneath it. This one has wide enough coils a minibot could stick their arm through it. "An' I know just what to do with this one." With his other hand he pulls another construct off the rack on his 'backpack', propping it butt-down between his legs and pushing the spring into place. Then pulls what looks like a propane tank fitted into a shell casing. "Perfect!" As he pushes the projectile down into place to compress the spring and a latch catchs with a solid *CLANK*. Sit-Com turns and smiles widely at the truck that plays the tune of Sanford and Son. Ah, a true classic. "Ah, another visitor, another customer. Excellent. We're searching for a needle in a haystack, want to help?" Landmine glances over at Chromedome's entry, and hmms. "Now...that's something you don't see every day." he shrugs, and then activates his Astro Blaster to carve out another chunk of Junk-terrain! "So what's that you're fiddling with, Horsepower?" he asks in a casual, professional way (and loud- Astro blasters aren't exactly quiet) as he gets to work. Encore nods and puts the four springs into his pack, resuming his own exploring and wanderings, rooting through every pile he can find. He finds a gas strut that was once part of a car or truck, examining it and testing its damping. That too goes into the pack with a grin. "Awesome." "What I do best, scavange and adapt." Horsepower picks the weapon up, resting it on his shoulder like one would a bazooka or missile launcher. "Propane ain't quite the punch napalm's got, but it's cheaper, and it still burns nice and hot while stickin' to the target. Ah spent longer than Ah reckon on Velocitron, building parts and weapons like this fer racers would couldn't afford the fancy 'big boy toys'." Slides it back into its storage pack. "But now that's done, back t'business." Encore blinks at Torque and nods, sorting through the pile she brought him. He grins, stowing most of the metal, and some more dampers, into the bag. He nods with a grin "Okay, now we need something that'll take the shock absorbers to make a good case, nice one Torque!" Encore grins at everyone "Okay we've got the parts fer the shock absorber, now we just want something to form a stock, trigger, and guard! Nice one folks!" Torque does a little fist pump of victory as Encore is satisfied with some of the things she's brought. "Awesome. Totally earning that enershine." She grins before moving to look at Horsepower's pile, inspecting it up and down before spotting something shiny at the far top. Hmm, she could climb, but these tall heaps were unstable, and it was too high to reach. Throwing her towline wouldn't be a good idea either. "Hey! Any a' you strong mechs mind givin' me a boost? I wanna grab somethin' offa the top." "No problem, miss...err, didn't catch YOUR name, either?" Landmine shakes his head as he heads on over. "Really should start reading personel reports." he glances up at the pile of stuff, then hmms. "Hold on just a sec!" And with a snap of his fingers, Landmine has his Pretender armor lumber over- the miner soon climbs inside- and as it whirrs closed, the taller, armored figure crouches down, offering one hand palm-up for Torque to step on. "Watch your step!" Horsepower meanwhile goes back to rummaging through the piles, and after throwing aside a few rusted odds and ends, finds an old beat up ion rifle. He turns it over a time or two in his hands, then turns and tosses it towards Encore. "Hey Encore, catch! Hold that and see how the stock fits yer arm. I can pull it off that busted piece of slag for ya if it's snug 'nuff." Sit-Com is finding various rifle-conversion-friendly parts and stacking them in a neat pile. He reaches into the pile and pulls out a pull-string Mrs. Beasley Doll. "Oh, Mrs. Beasley! I thought I'd lost you forever!" Sit-Com says, taking the doll and holding it close. Encore blinks and catches it, holding it as he would the bofors - and it's at this point that most would note he's actually a leftie. "Looks pretty good..." He comments, walking over to Sit-Com and investigating his pile of stuff. "Nice one..." He says, with a grin, taking the stack of parts - including some of the fiddly little ones to make the trigger linkages. "Cheers mate." Sit-Com grins and stares up at Encore. "Cheers, indeed. That must be worth at least a keg of Mellow Yellow, right?" Horsepower nods as he walks over and offers to take the rifle back. "Then just lemme have it 'gain for a moment. The rest of it is junk.. though I may be able to do something with it. Y'can have the stock and connectors though." Encore nods and passes it over to Horsepower "'Course mate." "Name's Torque." The femme grins at the pretender as he enters his shell and offers her a boost. "Only gonna be a second." She says while stepping up on the offered hand, reaching up to the tippy top where the alluring shiny object was. She'd finally grab it, inspecting it a moment to find it was actually some sort of tangled and mangled chandelier. "Whoooa, jackpot!" The shiny part was actually shining off the still-attatched crystals. Encore looks up and blinks "What'cha got there, Torque?" Torque puts some strength into her arms and easily prys the hanging beauty free before hopping off of Landmine and patting his shoulder roughly as she grins, "Thanks a lot, man. Couldn't have found it without yah." "Oh, don't worry about it. Mining and salvage is just my day job." Landmine says, sounding just a little wistful. "Good find anyway, though!" he nods- and then turns over towards Encore, noting the pile of gear he's accumulating. "How're we doing thus far?" Horsepower sits down on a smaller pile of trash, resting the rifle across his lap, then digs out a motorized driver to remove the screws. Then switchs to a holepunch and small hammer to tap the restraining pins out. Eventually the rifle pops apart cleanly in two, sperating the stock and its connectors from the rest of the battered body. Stashing the 'junk' away in his own subspace, he sets the removed stock down with the rest of Encore's gun parts. "There ya go." "Oooh, nothin'.. just a fancy-aft chandelier!" Torque proudly shows Encore her prize, which was actually the appropriate size for a Cybertronian, despite it being bent way out of shape. Must have escaped the fancy abandoned houses on Cybertron. "Question is, what t' do with it.. Could just fix it and hang it.. maybe make somethin' special." Torque muses to herself while tapping her chin with a finger. Encore takes the parts and blinks up at Torque, nodding quietly. "Huh..." He blinks, then watches Horsepower, taking the stock and putting it in his bag. His plan is to put the whole thing into his subspace, so it's in one package rather than a huge pile. He nods as he listens to Torque, grinning. "I'm sure you'll fink of somefing!" Horsepower laughs a bit. "Ahaha.. Inter'or decoratin' ain't my thing, so ya can have that one missy." He finds it more amusing than anything else. Pretender hmmms, taking a moment to glance out over the horizon. "Actually, Autobots, I think I've spotted something...don't wait on me!" and he's already taking off in that direction at a liesurely jog. "Might just be nothing...but if you hear something explode, don't worry!" and off goes Landmine on a new adventure! "Me either, if yah haven't noticed. I'll likely just melt down the metal and socket the gems for somethin'." Torque smirks and unhooks all the gems, subspaces them, then crumples down the metal with ease into a ball and subspaces it too. "By the way, we all should grab a drink after this in celebration of Encore's new guns! 'Cause yah know, I'm sure brewing takes a while." She looks to the large flier mech. Sit-Com is still clutching the doll close to him. Then he sighs and stows her away in subspace. "Ah, we all have our treasures? Good. Enjoy!" he says. Encore nods with a grin, then watches Landmine go at his jogging pace. "I fink so, yeah. I fink that's everyfing, and it does, it does. Ta the nearest pub, chaps?" Horsepower says, "Sounds good to me, iffen ya think y'got everything." "Aye, off to the place where everybody knows your name. And they're always glad you came," Sit-Com says. ++++++++++++++++++++++A month later, Crosshairs’ Workshop, Autobot City ++++++++++++++++++++++ Encore enters... fairly loudly, preceded by the familiar smell of enercigars. He's whistling to himself, carrying a large satchel over one shoulder, from which protrudes the barrel of his 40mm Bofors cannon. He pauses his whistling and peers at the work going on on the anvil for several minutes, trying to work out what it is exactly Crosshairs is doing. "'ere" He whispers, his head just a few feet from that of the weaponsmith. "What'cha doin'?" It is unlikely anyone will smell anything in the room, really, over the scent of forging in progress. It's an acrid, smoky scent and a thick haze hangs in the air that the environmental systems have not yet been able to compensate for. And so, Encore is neither seen nor heard until he speaks and he very, very nearly gets a red-hot mallet in the head for his efforts. Crosshairs whirls, the cantankerous old mech raising the weapon as though to bonk the younger one on the noggin . . only halting at the last possible second. "Bah! What the frag 'r ya doin' sneakin' up on me like that? You'll wreck my folding. Whadda ya want?" Encore yelps at the almost-mallet-to-the-head "I didn't, guv, I entered noisily." He says, meekly. "I've.... I've got the parts you'll need to make the rifle chassis for my 40mm, Crosshairs. Stock, shock absorbers, some metal... and some other stuff that I thought you might need or want. There's some pretty high-quality steel plates that we found, thought you might like 'em, coz it tastes like starship-grade hullplate." He grins, setting down his pack with a heavy CLUNK. Crosshairs gives Encore a long, long look. For a moment, he doesn't move. Then he sets the hammer down and pulls the blade from where it rests on the plasma fire. He takes the pack in one hand and lifting it to his shoulder, moves over to a work bench. With surprising speed he lays everything out. "Mm." He grunts. "What do you think ya brought me? The shock absorbers are out of fluid, the stock is off by seventy nine microns, the metal is basically impure slag . . and what Encore says are high quality steel plates are garbage scow hull. Where'd ya get all this, Junkion?" He shakes his head. "But, we don't have anything else to work with, so let's see what we can do . . " Without waiting for a response from Encore he begins, taking out tools and working over the assembled components with hands long practiced, almost giving the appearance that he could do this during his rest cycle. Slowly, the stock is hammered out and shaped expertly with the recoil supression system integrated before he begins to start on mating the assemblies togeather. Encore blinks as he watches "It... looked OK..." He comments quietly. "But then, dat's why you make stuff, an' not me." He shrugs quietly. "But yeah, actually. It's about the only place I could fink of to get all the stuff we needed in one place." He shrugs, his voice going quieter. "The metal plate was supposed to be a thank you gift." "It'll work." Crosshairs says, even more gruffly. "Going to use some of it to build up the stock though, so you don't start blasting the casing into shavings as soon as you . . hrm." He stops working and reaches out to prod at Encore. "You left or right handed?" He poises his tools again, after the poke Encore takes a pull of his cigar and brightens "I'm sinister, guv." A pause, then he adds. "Left-handed." He watches what Crosshairs is doing, noting how he's made it so the gun can be removed from the stock for when he's in AC130 mode. Crosshairs nods at Encore, and goes back to work. All becomes clear while he asks as he begins to re-construct the ammo feed so that the spent casings fly in a direction away from the shooter's face. It takes awhile, and Crosshairs is not in any particular hurry. Even when the actual structure of the weapon is done, he gets a roughing tool, a sanding device and paint and begins to go to work on the cosmetic appearances of it. Finally, after a couple of cycles, he's finished. "There ya go." he says. "I even built it up a bit around the stock, in case you find the need to crack someone's cranial unit with it." He's not kidding, either. That's where most of the plating has gone. Encore watches the entire process, quite fascinated, remaining silent. "Wish I could do that." He comments quietly as he takes the rifle, checking it against his shoulder and giving an approving nod. "Much obliged, Crosshairs - is there anyfing I can do to return the favour?" Crosshairs waves his hand in a dismissive fashion. "Ain't a big thing." He says. "And no. Though, if you want to be useful, get me some of the concrete and the like that I asked the operations division for. I don't take personal favors though, business is business. Go on -- shoo. I've got to finish that claymore." Encore blinkblinks and nods, saluting before he heads for the exit. "I'll 'ave the concrete for ya within the week, guv. Least I can do!" He grins. It appears he's had practice holding something around the right size and vague shape as the new Bofors rifle, as he holds it like one should - aimed low, with the trigger finger resting along the side of the gun, above the trigger rather than on the firing mechanism itself. "I'll bring you back the first part that she blows off a Con, too." Crosshairs nods once and throws Encore sort of a salute. "Do yer best." Then, bending, he takes up his hammer and turns up the heat on the plasma anvil once again, muttering something about needing to be done before dawn. Encore disappears out the door, obviously heading straight to the training room to test his new gun. ++++++++++++++++++++++Ninety seconds later, Autobot City Training Room++++++++++++++++++++++ Encore enters the training room in his usual manner, sliding down the ladder - with his shiny new Bofors rifle across his back. He moves straight over to the firing range and requisitions a stack of 40mm autocannon ammo, stacking it up in 'stripper magazines' on the shelf in front of him in the booth. PAK-PAK-PAK-PAK-PAK! "Cor!" He grins. "Wasn't expectin' quite that kinda kick!" All at once, the door to the Training Chamber opens and Crosshairs walks in at a calm, reserved pace; crossing his arms and leaning against the wall with one shoulder as he waits for Encore to notice him. When it does not initially happen as he came in right about the time of the pak-pak-pak-pak-pak . . Crosshairs smiles to himself and attempts to step up behind the other. Absently, he reaches out with is left hand . . attempting to tap him on the shoulder and then slug him across the chin with the right hand if and when he turns. Encore does indeed turn, only to take the punch to the side of the head, bouncing him off the other side of the booth. "Oi! Wot the bloody'ell didja do dat fer?" Crosshairs would facepalm, but fortunatly he isn't the sort. He does have a sense of humor though, as he takes a step or two back; adopting a somewhat ready stance. "Thought maybe you'd appreciate somethin' to shoot at beside a static target, and I owed you one for sneaking up on me." It's as matter of fact as anything. "You'll never get a good opinion shootin' at that mess. So." He gestures. "Bring it, I suppose you young'uns would say." Crosshairs adds . . "I might be old, but I can still toss a C-130 around." Encore yelps quietly and blinks, re-loading the 40mm cannon and blinking again. "Well, true. And we're nice an' safe in 'ere, not like we're gonna do any /real/ damage..." He pulls the bolt of the weapon and brings it up to his shoulder. It appears he's about to fire, but instead he moves to get some space and better cover, attempting to slam Crosshairs across the side of the head with the freshly-made Bofors rifle! Encore and Crosshairs are sparring by the looks of them -- the former with a gun so new that the paint is barely dry. By the look of it, he's just clocked Crosshairs over the forehead with it for the old mech takes a step back; hand rising to his forehead. "ARRGH." He says, with a horrible yell. "LOOK WHAT YA FRAGGIN' DID! THE HOLO-SAFETIES AERN'T ON! YA BLOODY WHIPPERSNAPPER . . MY OPTIC CAME OUT! FIND IT ON THE GROUND WHERE IT ROLLED." He staggers to the side like a drunken boxer . . and then suddenly lunges for Encore . . and right past him; vaulting over some debris. If the big mech is fast enough to look, he'll see a little thing that looks like a limpet mine on his side . . of course, it was a pretty hasty placement and may or may not go off. Either way, Crosshairs hits the ground on his shoulder and rolling, comes up with his grenade launcher out and ready weather or not the blast goes off. Encore 's eyes narrow a moment, scanning Crosshairs over for any sign of damage. "Pull da other one, Cross, it's got bells on." He too dives aside, expecting *something* - just not the limpet mine, which is slapped into the empty space where he was just moments ago, and drops to the floor. It detonates moments later, the shockwave propelling the Autobot further in his intended direction of travel. He commando-rolls behind a handy holo-wall, bringing the 40mm rifle up over the cover to fire at the weaponsmith. PAK-PAK-PAK-PAK-PAK! Encore says, "I gotta say, Cross, I like the balance of this gun." Crosshairs is showing a few small pockmarks, here and there. Nothing terribly major. The old Autobot was built when die cast construction wasn't a lost art. He's in the process of moving again as well when the flak shells stitch a line of craters up one leg and across his lower torso in a series of fragment-laden small explosions. "Good." He says. "I weighted the stock a bit for you, because you've got a habit of holdin' it a little too high. Ain't just for clockin' people, the weight will help balance it." He shunts his weapon into subspace and vanishes behind some more debris, re-appearing with a huge chaingun ensemble. It's held at the hip, barrels already beginning to spin as a torrent of armor piercing shells are sent towards Encore. "Been wanting to try this out." Should they strike, they are revealed to be something . . even worse than depleted uranium, and armor is virtually no impediment at all. Andi Lassiter steps into the training room from the medbay, having been told that she'd find Encore here. Of course, what she sees upon arrival makes her pause and hope that this is not a live-fire training session. Encore yelps and ducks down behind his cover as the chaingun pours its crap at him, wincing. Sure the rounds may not /really/ be live, just holographic represantations of them. But they still hurt like crap when they hit, and they sound real too as they bounce off his cover. While he's not hurt, one can definitely consider Encore firmly suppressed for the moment! As he misses the first burst, Crosshairs is entirely undisturbed. He simply drops to a defensive crouch and steadies the armored, heavy portion of the bucking chaingun on a nearby rock as he dials up the rate of fire. The rapid fire stattaco flashes and choom-choom-choom of the chain-fed weapon rises to an almighty, rending -VREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE- as the electric motors begin to smoke from the requirements of spinning the armored barrels so fast as he attempts to simply grind right through Encore's cover. Encore yelps and attempts to remain in cover. He chooses exactly the /wrong/ moment to lean out of cover, however, and the next burst takes his helmet clean off, a holographic crack appearing over one optic to represent damage - and impair him, as he would be. "Motherf-!" He almost curses, before remembering it's a family show. "Fragger!" He waits for the noise to die down and darts into another, hopefully thicker piece of cover, raising the gun to his shoulder and taking aim with his good eye. "I'd 'ate to be a con on the other end o' that bugger..." He calls out. "How's this feel?" Crosshairs ducks as the weapon is raised and the round passes through the area where he was before. "Feels like yer still overcompensatin'." He says, and then suddenly begins to run towards another piece of cover; vaulting over it and leaving a crumbling pile of rocks in his wake in a minature slide. A split second later, the revving of an engine is heard as Crosshairs' vehicle mode form rises up and over it at speed -- sailing towards Encore's position at high velocity. Again, he looks a trace bit worse for wear -- some craters here and there, a chunk out of one tire, but . . he's still comin'. Crosshairs tosses Pinpointer upwards as his body rotates down. Wheels fold into position and begin to spin as his bulk settles down into teh shape of his Cybertronian All Terrain Tech Truck Altmode! Pinpointer is drawn to a turret mount on the roof by magnetic grapples. The Autobot targetmaster duo are now in vehicle mode! Horsepower clomps into the training room, possibly to test one of his own inventions out. But comes to a stop off to the side at the sound of weaponsfire and engines roaring. ".. Ah thought it sounded like someone was already down here raisin' a ruckus." Andi Lassiter winces and covers her ears with her hands. Simulated rounds or not, it's LOUD. She feels the vibrations of Horsepower's footfalls more than hears them, and has to scramble sideways out of his path. Encore stands up to take the hit, holding his rifle in his right hand. As Crosshairs nears him, he attempts to slam his fist down onto the car's hood and, in theory, catapult him up and over his head like Hellboy did. It's gonna hurt either way, but this way... it'll hurt Cross too, at least holographically. "There's red on me. Red means STOP!" Encore's attack, unfortunatly, is unsuccessful and Crosshairs rushes on by. As his vehicle mode roars along, a soft shhhhhhhhhhhhhink and metallic ringing can be heard. It is revealed to be his magnetic tow chain as it attempts to coil around Encore's ankles and drag him along for the ride. Of course though, as Crosshairs turns wide around a ruined fence . . Horsepower is right in the path! Encore watches Crosshairs go past, only to spot Horsepower and Andi at the last moment. Without thinking, he grabs the chain and *yanks*, not hard enough to stop Crosshairs slamming into Horsepower unfortunately, but hard enough to prevent the pair squishing the human. "Time out, time out, yeh? Miss Andi's here, an' while the weapons are 'olographic, we ain't, an' she might get 'urt." Encore is, obviously, hurt by doing so. +CLUNK+ Horsepower looks down as the ATV smacks into his legs, but thanks to Encore's dragging slowing Crosshairs down it's only a minor bump in general. That and the guy is use to having cars bump into him. He use to work around violent racetracks, remember. "Y'all really shouldn't be that reckless, j'yup." Andi Lassiter gasps when she sees the ATV and Encore headed toward her (Horsepower really) and backs up as far as she can. Sadly, that's not far at all, and she's backed up against a wall. She closes her eyes, expecting to get squished, and flinches at the thuds and clunks of the mechs running into each other, then opens one eye to peer about when she's not hit. Cybertronian All Terrain Tech Truck ejects the chain and transforms; rising upwards into his robot mode and letting the momentum carry him along in a shower of sparks on his feet. He comes to a rest though, looking somewhat irritated. " . . . and some people should be more careful when the displays say that there is a fight going on. Everyone all right?" He seems concerned, but he's probably taking the 'tough' stance to not be embarassed. Pinpointer ejects from Crosshair's turret mount as the Autobot's vehicle form spins sideways as though in an involuntary roll. But it is not a crash as his legs unfold from beneath the vehicle and his arms emerge. As his head pops into position, Pinpointer is caught in Crosshairs' waiting right arm. The Autobot targetmaster duo are now in Robot mode! Encore unwraps the chain from his arm as Crosshairs transforms, lighting another cigar and wandering over to the trio "Are you OK, Miss Andi?" he tilts his head, clapping Crosshairs on the shoulder. "I fink I got a feel fer da new gun, anyway guv, thank you." Horsepower laughs a bit. "Oh com'n, Ah drove into the middle of demo derbys fer a livin' before rejoinin' y'all, a li'l acceedental sideswipe ain't slowin' me down none." Idly he slings a rather large assembly off his back, cradling it in one arm and fiddling with what basically looks like a giant generator hooked up to the back of an oversized barrel. "... Oh, finally got that rifle made, eh? Hope the stuff we dug outta the junkpiles helped." Andi Lassiter takes a shaky breath, now that she realizes that she's not about to be squished. "I'm okay, I think. Sorry about wandering in like that, Crosshairs. I should have known better." She's still leaned against the wall, though. Maybe she's just comfortable there? Crosshairs is quiet, his dour mood sinking back in after the interruption. "Good." He says to Encore. And "Mmm." to Andi. Probably still recovering from the embarassment of dragging others into it. "I suppose I'll get back to the munitions bay." Encore displays the Bofors rifle, which is even painted with BAE Systems Bofors logos and the Autobot insignia. He's obviously immensely pleased with the results. "Yeah, we were just givin' it a test, an' havin' a bit of a laff when you two wandered in." He chuckles. It's obvious he's trained to use a rifle; he holds it in a relaxed way, with his finger resting above the trigger, not on it, and the barrel pointed at the ground away from anyone. "Personally, I think you've done a brilliant job, Crosshairs. How are ya, Andi, Hoss?" "Doin' just fine, Ah reckon." Horsepower finishes with his adjustments, and shoulders the weapon, keeping the barrel pointed up and away from anything important. "Reckon Ah was gonna test out some of m'own work. Make sure it don't blow up on me or nuttin'." Short pause. "Heard one of the ol' inventors 'round here use to have a problem with that happenin'." Crosshairs pauses at the door; turning back to look at Encore. "I'm glad it works for you." He says, the edge of grump still remaining around his voice. "You ought to get your targeting systems looked at, though. Drop by the munitions bay sometime and I'll see what I can do." He then looks at Horsepower. "Hey, I neve . . oh, right. I'm sorry. I never actually met Wheeljack. Heard a good bit 'bout him, but.." There is a soft beep as the elevator door closes above. It is soon followed by the tap-rap of the lift lowering through the shaft, and completed with a swoosh as the doors open to reveal Ultra Magnus. He steps out of it, his feet clunking and thumping against the floor, and notes Crosshairs, "Why wait, I believe the Training Chamber still contains a calibration toolkit?" Encore shoulders his new shiny rifle and salutes Ultra Magnus, nodding to Crosshairs. "Course I will, Crosshairs mate. I've already had the latest targeting software put in by Decibel, but I'm pretty sure dat I need hardware upgrades too. I'm still running off the hardware we were using before Optimus, Primus rest 'is spark, came here to Earth." Crosshairs throws Magnus a sort of salute. "Magnus." He says to him. He always did like Magnus better than Rodimus Prime, not forgiving the other at all after what he did to him during Fortress Maximus' trial. "Mostly because, calibration toolkit here or not, I haven't the rest of my stuff with me to do it properly. We'll get him on the pedestal in the munitions chamber, firing blanks at holographic targets and do it the right way. No quick patchjobs." Andi Lassiter nods up at Encore, then blinks as Ultra Magnus arrives. She's feeling more and more out of place, a Chihuahua in a room full of basketball players. "Um, Crosshairs?" "Ah think ol' Crosshairs just prefers doin' it the old fashioned way, with grit and servo grease," Horsepower offers his own explaination with a chuckle, even as he's tromping out into the main expanse of the room, holding his cannon's handle with one hand as he reachs up with the other and thumbs on the generator, which starts to buzz lowly and crackle a few sparks now and then. Encore nods as he listens to Crosshairs "Installing any parts that I need along the way, right Guv." He agrees. "Bein' thorough ain't to be knocked at, I reckon." Ultra Magnus' entire frame seems to sigh and deflate somewhat at the mention of Optimus Prime. The pain, sorrow, and regret it noticeable, but not for long. As quickly as it appeared, it is gone. He waves away the salute dismissively, not one to stand on ceremony. He nods, accepting Crosshairs explanation. He turns his head, and smiles, "Hello Andi." Although not intending to, his massive form currently blocks access to the lift. "Encore, your commitment to improving yourself is commendable." Encore sniffs quietly, contemplating his cigar a moment. "Gotta get myself up to full capacity, guv." he explains "I still need to get a GAU-12 Avenger gatling gun and an M102 105mm howitzer just to get all the weapons my alt-chassis /should/ have. And I'll 'ave 'em for robot mode like my 40mm here. Way I see it, I got a duty to improve... folks are relyin' on me, an' not just cybertronians. To not upgrade myself and be the best I can, would... would dishonour the memory of all that've fallen in this war. I may be a petty thief, I may be a lecherous and crude being, but I will not dishonour those upon whose shoulders I stand." Crosshairs nods to Magnus just once, turning his entire body towards Andi to hear what she says. "Andi?" He asks; making an effort to single her out with his sight and his speech so that she doesn't feel left out. "Here, let's move you somewhere safer." He drops to one knee, offering her the palm of his hand, and if he steps on it, he'll transfer her to his shoulder. "I second that. Encore's been doin' well. Better than most here, at least. Speakin' of people, though . . . you seen where Brainstorm's gotten to?" His hand then waves at Encore again. "And I've told ya, time and time again, learn to use what you have, and as you do and we find materials, we'll keep upgradin' you. I can't understand your reliance on terran weaponry though, altmode or not. You should let me make you a gattling laser or . . " The humming turns into an electrical screech briefly, followed by a crack almost like thunder as a bolt of electricity erupts from Horsepower's contraption of a weapon. With enough force that even in the tough tinkerer's grip it bucks a bit from the recoil. Fortunately he's just shooting at the target drones. Encore shakes his head. "I used solid slug weapons before I got 'ere, and I'll keep usin' em. Humans are much better at designin' that kinda weaponry dan we are, and most Decepticons are set up to counter energy weapons in some form or other. They just ain't 'spectin' this kinda weaponry. It's an advantage we've got against 'em. One I plan ta keep." He blinks over at Horsepower's weapon, shielding his face instinctively. "...bugger me!" +crash+ That'd be the sound of Horsepower falling over backwards from the kick, inadvertingly avoiding the return fire. But the tumble also smacks the back of his cannon on the floor so hard that it breaks apart. "Tarnation! That packed more a wallop than Ah was expectin'!" Looks like it fried the drone pretty good too, though. Andi Lassiter accepts Crosshairs' offer to move elsewhere, and settles onto his shoulder with the ease of long practice. This also means she can chat with him and the others without feeling like she's yelling at their knees. She flinches at the discharge of Horsepower's weapon, but doesn't feel nearly as exposed to the stuff now that she's theoretically got the munitions master's entire noggin as a shield. "Say, Crosshairs, would you perhaps have some time to check over a few weapons prototypes I've been working on for the EDC? Not right now, of course, some time in the next week or so." Crosshairs is careful not to dislodge Andi if she decided to accept his offer and crosses to where Horsepower is. He does not attempt to pick up his fellow Autobot, but instead the mangled remains of the weapon. " . . . not only did you manage to knock yourself on your aft and break it, it appears that ya managed to fry the emitting coil. Gotta dial it back on the way through the plasma induction module, and let the voltage ramp back up once it's through the emission coil, otherwise you'll . . . " He shrugs, and smiles in a paternal sort of fashion. "You'll learn, I'm sure. If you want a hand, come and find me. I did the same thing with a defense station mounted particle cannon once, and blew half a fortification off . . . " Then, he drops the mangled gun and offers a hand to help Horsepower up. "Sure, Andi." He says. "Do you want me to come to you, or do you want to bring the stuff here?" Ultra Magnus gives a slight frown as his olfactory sensors are assaulted by the smoke from the lithium-cobalt cigar. He pulls out a data pad from a compartment in his side, makes a note to have a word with the surgeon general, inquiring to the long term effects of smoking on the Cybertronian body, and returns the pad to its storage compartment. He offers Andi another smile as he notes Crosshairs taking her under his car, but then the subject of Brainstorm is breached. "Brainstorm is on assignment. Until further notice Crosshairs, you are the acting head of operations." He doesn't have the look of an Autobot willing to elaborate on Brainstorm's whereabouts and quickly moves on." "All right." Crosshairs adds to Magnus. "I was goin' about it that way, anyway. I've got . . a special project in mind anyway that will keep the lads busy for a bit." Horsepower grins a bit haplessly as he's helped to his feet after Crosshairs provides his insight on the matter. "Would ya believe it's 'cuz Ah'm -not- use to workin' with premium parts?" Once he's up he winces, brushing off where the backfire scorched his shoulder a bit. "Back on Velocitron Ah had t'do lotta scavengin' 'cuz they wouldn't equally distribute parts whenever some jackshaft got too big fer his britches an' tried squeezin' the compatition." He then leans down to pick up the remains himself. "Hmmm... Reckon yer assesment's pretty acoorate there though." Encore regularly has his filters changed, to minimise the damage his smoking does. He looks at Ultra Magnus, then at horsepower, not sure what to say next. "Hnn." Andi Lassiter smiles and speaks quietly enough for Crosshairs to hear but not loud enough to interrupt his conversations with the others. "They're still in prototype testing, so I can't take them out of R&D." Ultra Magnus moves along the wall, keeping his distance from the training drone and any Autobots who wish to engage it. He is as unarmed as he ever gets, which means that he still has two shoulder mounted missiles on display. Then, he offers a small joke to Horsepower, "Are you sure you're not a Junkion?" See, Ultra Magnus, he's being causal, well, about as casual as the career military Autobot ever gets. Encore steps up to the booth beside Hoss and raises his rifle to his shoulder. He fires again, nailing the holographic target squarely with the five-round burst. He snorts a laugh at Magnus' joke, a grin spreading across his face. "You feeling awright, Magnus?" Horsepower probably -could- pass as a Junkion if he wanted, he's got enough spikes and odd kibbly bits on him if one looked close enough. He guffaws loudly at the comment. "Nah, Ah only did it outta necessahty. Junkions do it fer fun!" Ultra Magnus considers out loud, "They call that fun?" But he is no one to complain, being alive and well today because of the medical capabilities of the Junkions. He's never understood why they could put him back together, looking so immaculate, and yet they always look like junk. But he tries not to judge other cultures. Crosshairs nods at Andi, careful not to dislodge her. Slowly though he does attempt to take her in hand and set her down on the floor. "I do need to go." He says. "I have a presentation to make in Tuscon, soon. I've been going over demolitions disposal with various EOD groups, tryin' to educate them on Cybertronian technology in case the 'cons pull a real' dirty on them. So, I'll see you all later. Horsepower, Andi. Encore. Boss." And then, he's gone. Encore chuckles. "Of all the cultures we've found, Junkions gotta be the oddest. Catcha later, Crosshairs, thanks again fer yer help!" Andi Lassiter waves after Crosshairs once he's set her back on the floor. "Good night, Crosshairs." Ultra Magnus frowns as he is referred to as boss, but it's nothing he'd forcibly correct. He just gets embarrassed when treated with any kind of deference, since he feels it is undeserved. Returning towards the elevator shaft, he offers a hand to Andi, "Can I offer you a lift, Andi?" ".. Yeah, the Cons probably got plenty of mad bombers who'd bomb at midnight. Seeya later Crosshairs." Horsepower stuffs the parts of the cannon away in a storage compartment, sorted between what he can reuses, and what's gonna need to be scrapped. "Well, least Ah know this design don't work as is, -before- goin' to the field with it." Encore nodnods "I hear that, Hoss mate. Gotta say though, the race that's most impressed me, that we've met? Humans. They're small, soft, squishy... yet look at what they've made. Look at what we've achieved together. Andi Lassiter looks up at Ultra Magnus and accepts his offer graciously. "Thank you, kind sir." She steps lightly onto the mech's hand, moving to sit on his palm so he'll feel less concerned about moving while carrying her. She knows not all Autobots are completely comfortable conveying humans about, and she tries to not make matters worse for them until she knows who gets all squeamish and who doesn't. "They make bitchin' cars, too," Horsepower adds to that. Once a racer, always a racer. Ultra Magnus adjusts his weight and forces to keep the hand that Andi currently sits upon, at a constant equilibrium. While he may move, she will be kept on a flat, balanced, and stationary position, including elevation. "It will be my pleasure, Miss Lassiter." Encore steps into the elevator behind Magnus, his rifle shouldered in the 'guard' position, butt resting on his hand. He does very much look a Sergeant like that. Perhaps he should be promoted to one? "Y'guys go ahead, Ah'm gonna work on this fer a bit." Horsepower holds up one of the pieces to inspect its damage, metal tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth thoughtfully. "Maybe holo up a simulation or two." Besides, with two big bots like Magnus and Encore the lift is already gonna be crowded, and they don't want Andi getting squished. Andi Lassiter leans a bit to be able to see Encore. "So, new weapon there? It seemed ... noisy." Encore chuckles and shakes his head "Naw, miss Andi. Old weapon, new chassis." He grins, taking the 40mm out of its rifle grip and stock. "It's the Bofors gun from my alt-form, so I can use it in this mode too." Horsepower idly trudges over to one of the control consoles punches in a few commands, making a few adjustments based on Crosshairs' comments, and sets up a holographic simulation of firing it this time. Ultra Magnus doesn't want to block the lift, so he moves further into the training chamber, but keeps the wall, and still pays special attention to Andi's welfare, keeping her stabilised, and ready to shield her with his other hand, should something like shrapnel come heading their way. When she leans forward, his free hand moves closer, just in case she keeps going and falls, he wants to safely catch her. "I thought crickets were small insects?" Encore blinks and shakes his head "Naw, it's not small enough to be a cricket. The Noisy Cricket's tiny, and this is a full-blown assault rifle." He grins, leaning against the edge of the lift. He's happy to stand around and chat. "Need to be a tiny-but-powerful pistol to be a Noisy Cricket" ".. Hand sized cannon? Now thare's an idea!" Horsepower comments over his shoulder. He's always on the lookout for a good inspiration or two. Right now he's fiddling with his current work in progress though. Making it not blow up from the discharge would be a good idea. Good thing he got some advice from the resident weapons expert. Andi Lassiter just grins at Encore and pulls her phone out of a pocket, tapping at the screen momentarily before holding it where Ultra Magnus can see. The clip from the movie shows on the tiny palm-sized screen for the Autobot to watch. Demonstrations must attract viewers, since in the process of showing the clip Horsepower wandered over to look as well. "... Need to do somethin' bout that recoil. Dang! And Ah thought this puppy had kick!" Then rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Though. Hmm. Sonic concussion..." Encore grins back and then looks between the trio, sniffing quietly. "I fink I'll take my leave, guys. I'm due a recharge" Ultra Magnus watches the clip, and smiles at certain points. "Men in Black? I will have to view this film. What are the names of the two actors, Andi? The dark one is very amusing, and the light one is vaguely familiar to me." Horsepower gives a vague wave to the gunner as he watchs the clips. "Seeya later Encore." Then, Ultra Magnus looks up, "Encore, as the humans say, pleasant dreams." Andi Lassiter laughs softly, then looks up at Encore. "Rest well, Encore." She closes down the movie clip after it ends, returning her phone to her pocket. "The actors are Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Both excellent actors in my opinion." Of course, just thinking about that movie and how old it is makes her feel even older, and her smile fades a bit. Encore pauses at the edge of the lift. "Will Smith an' Tommy Lee Jones. Rest well, when you do guys." Ping. The lift doors close, and Encore heads to his recharge palette